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Azzaman, March 9, 2012
Iraq’s largest power plant is currently producing 380 megawatts out of a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts.
The drastic slump in output was noted by the Minister of Electricity himself, Kareem al-Jumaili, on a visit Baiji in northern Iraq where the plant is situated.
“I am not happy at all with current conditions at the plant and the deteriorating rate of production,” he told the employees.
Jumaili said he was shocked to see that the plant had not been rehabilitated in the past years and that some of the six units, each with 220-megawatt capacity, were still idle.
Jumaili has promised to put an end to outages in Iraq by the end of 2012 but now the self-imposed deadline does not seem practical.
Last week, the ministry asked Iran to increase its exports of electricity to the country. Under a new agreement, Iraq will be importing up to 1500 megawatts from Iran at a cost estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Officials at the Baiji plant blamed the quality of fuel for the slump in output, saying the fuel provided by the Ministry of Oil was of a quality not fit for electricity generation.
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Iraq’s largest power plant is currently producing 380 megawatts out of a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts.
The drastic slump in output was noted by the Minister of Electricity himself, Kareem al-Jumaili, on a visit Baiji in northern Iraq where the plant is situated.
“I am not happy at all with current conditions at the plant and the deteriorating rate of production,” he told the employees.
Jumaili said he was shocked to see that the plant had not been rehabilitated in the past years and that some of the six units, each with 220-megawatt capacity, were still idle.
Jumaili has promised to put an end to outages in Iraq by the end of 2012 but now the self-imposed deadline does not seem practical.
Last week, the ministry asked Iran to increase its exports of electricity to the country. Under a new agreement, Iraq will be importing up to 1500 megawatts from Iran at a cost estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Officials at the Baiji plant blamed the quality of fuel for the slump in output, saying the fuel provided by the Ministry of Oil was of a quality not fit for electricity generation.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
